


A Strange Halloween

by snow_means_love



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Puns, Blood, Cults, Demons, Drowning, Ghosts, Halloween, Horror Tropes, Iron Dad, Kidnapping, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), graveyards, irresponsible teenagers doing stupid things, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:45:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snow_means_love/pseuds/snow_means_love
Summary: Halloween is the busiest time of the year for Stephen since there are a lot of supernatural hijinks going on – and some of them are very dangerous. His night goes from messy to absolute disaster when he only just manages to interrupt a cult that tried to sacrifice a six-year-old girl. Unfortunately the incoming police mistake Stephen for one of the cultists. Tony decides to help him out.But it doesn't take long for Tony to notice that some really weird things are happening.





	A Strange Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> This is my piece for the IronStrange Midsummer Big Bang. It was a really busy time for me but I had a lot of fun writing this :)  
> I am eternally grateful to the amazing [meshkol](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashernorton/pseuds/meshkol) for the great work and very patient beta reading. Thank you so much!  
> Also a huge thanks to [diamondbirdy01](https://diamondbirdy01.tumblr.com/) who made the really cool art accompanying this fic. It turned out amazing, I feel so honored!
> 
> Edit: I fixed an issue were some of the spaces weren't working right. Should be much easier to read now, sorry about that!

The child had started crying and Stephen couldn't blame her. In all honesty, if it wasn't for his remaining dignity he probably would be crying too.

This night was an absolute disaster.

“It's alright, shh, it's alright now. We're the police; we're here to help. We'll get you away from this strange man and back to your parents, okay?” a brunette police woman comforted her with a calm, soothing voice.

The girl upon hearing this cried even louder than before and Stephen sighed. “Look, if you would just listen to me for a seco—”

“We're not listening to a cultist kidnapper,” the woman interrupted him sharply. There was a fiercely protective glint in her eyes that Stephen could absolutely empathize with. Looking at the girl with blood all over her small hands, on her flowing white dress, on her face – well. It was hard to remain professional in a situation like this.

“As I've told you before, I had nothing to do with those men and came here to help,” he tried again.

She snorted and defensively tugged the girl behind her. “Yes, right, of course. The guy dressed like a cultist wearing an actual cape surely is not part of the cult trying to drown a little girl.”

That spurred another reaction and the girl was outright wailing now. The sound rang loudly in Stephen's ears as two other policemen came to apprehend him. He only got out a quick “It's not a cape, it's a cloak!” before he was forcefully manhandled into the police car.

He briefly contemplated just opening a portal and leaving behind all of this mess, but then he shot a quick look at the small girl. She was still panicking and also being dragged (although a lot more gently) into a different police car. Her black hair fell messily over her dark eyes and only by shaking her head she managed to somewhat tame the wild strands and meet his gaze. Her whole face was red from crying and she looked at him in obvious desperation, her wet eyes begging him not to leave. She was shouting something but he could only see her mouth move behind the thick glass of the car's window. He made his decision then.

It took less than an hour for him to deeply regret said decision.

The police station was buzzing with activity. It made sense – it was Halloween after all. They probably had as much work to do as he did tonight, Stephen mused. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly in frustration. “This really is a mess.”

The old officer currently interrogating him shrugged apathetically. “Well, Mr...” he said as he flipped through the papers on the table in front of him again, squinting his eyes. “Mr... Strange. If you—”

“Doctor.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, you are excused,” Stephen spit out. He couldn't help it – this whole situation was grinding on his nerves and his remaining patience had long since run out.

The officer in return looked at him as if he was a particularly vile piece of dirt that he had accidentally stepped on and that was now stuck under his shoe.

“It's Doctor Strange,” Stephen still felt the need to clarify.

“Good for you,” the officer replied snidely. Apparently they both rather wanted to be anywhere but here. Stephen almost laughed out loud. Something in common already.

“Anyway, _Doctor_ Strange,” he began again, “you must realize that the situation you were found in makes you the main suspect of this kidnapping incident. The other men at the scene of the crime are still at the hospital and not ready to be questioned at this point in time. The orphanage the young Miss Morgan— ” _Sam_ , Stephen almost interrupted, _she wanted to be called Sam, it was important to her._ “ —is staying with reported her missing at 7 pm. Officers were sent out to investigate but there were no clues as to what could have happened to her. And then suddenly, three hours later, you call directly from the scene of the crime.” The officer stared at him with a blank face, waiting, as if Stephen held all the answers to this insanity.

“I've been telling you for...” Stephen glanced at the clock on the wall. “...for the last 70 minutes now, I had nothing to do with how she got into this situation. I felt a disturbance—”

“Did you feel guilty?”, the officer interrupted pointedly.

Stephen frowned. “What?”

“Did you feel guilty for kidnapping the girl? Making her suffer like that? From what we've gathered all the blood on the scene, including that of these strange... circles drawn on the ground, came from pigs. This must have taken a long time to prepare. Was it when she started crying? Begging? When you forced her head down into the basin filled with blood. Did you feel guilty then? Was that why you stopped?”

He had been interrogated for over an hour now and heard the story multiple times. Hell, he had been there himself; he’d seen it happening. Yet even thinking about it again made his stomach feel heavy, as if it were filled with lead.

Yes, he felt guilty. Because he hadn’t been fast enough. Not observant enough. _Failure_ , a voice whispered deep within him.

He shook his head, trying to force the thoughts away. He had to focus. This was not about him. _It's not always about you._

“No?” the officer sneered. “Nothing? No feelings at all, not even when drowning a six-year-old orphan? Disgusting. And for what? What was the purpose of all this?”

This at least Stephen had figured out.

“Judging from the circles, as you called them, I am positive that they tried to sacrifice her in order to summon a demon.” Why anyone would even want to do that was beyond him. It was completely foolish and very obvious that these so called cultists had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

“A demon,” the officer repeated drily. “And you believe that?”

“That they tried to summon a demon? Certainly. It's Halloween.” His busiest day of the year because people started to mess with things they had no business messing with.

“Right.” The officer leaned back from the table as if to put more distance between him and Stephen. Stephen would very much like to put a few miles of distance between them himself but one of his hands was still chained to the table. Which was both incredibly ridiculous and probably not quite legal.

“I'll be honest with you,” the man started again. He looked tired, as if this interrogation alone had given him a few more gray hairs. Stephen could sympathize.

“That girl is obviously traumatized and hasn't said a word since she got here. However, it's very clear that she is scared of you and that you're involved in this. Now, you can drag this out even longer – though at this point we will definitely just transfer you into a holding cell for the next few days and deal with you later – or you could do all of us a favor and stop wasting our time. As you might have noticed we are very busy people here and severely understaffed. So, if we could just get this over with, that would be great.”

Stephen raised both of his eyebrows. They thought they were 'severely understaffed'? He and Wong were currently dealing with New York all on their own, only two people to stop the worst of the magical Halloween disasters. But that was the thing, wasn't it? While he was kept here, there were more cases outside that needed his attention: drunken teenagers messing with a ouija board, people doing stupid stuff at a graveyard on a dare, maybe even more kids like Sam. His stomach started feeling heavy again. He really was wasting time.

He exhaled deeply. “I would very much like to get this over with.”

“Fantastic! If you could just sign this then.” The officer slid a piece of paper over to him, and Stephen looked down at it. For the first time since being held at the station he didn't feel frustration. Instead there was pure rage bubbling up inside him.

“I am _not_ claiming guilty,” he hissed and pushed the paper back towards the officer.

The officer sighed and shook his head, as if he was a misbehaving child, Stephen thought angrily. He clenched his jaw, swallowing down some very colorful comments that would no doubt escalate the situation even further.

“If you don't want to cooperate, it seems we have no other choice.”

“No, it seems we really don't.”

“I will organize someone to escort you into a holding cell then, if you would follow me Mr. Stra—”

“Doctor. It's Doctor Strange.” Was that really so hard to remember? “And no. I'm not following you anywhere.”

The officer stood up straight then, furrowing his brows. Stephen could care less.

“I guess I'm the one who will be honest with you now. This has gone on for way too long. I have work to do that's probably way more important than whatever you're supposed to be doing here, judging by your actions and the behavior you have displayed in the last hour.” The man looked like he wanted to interrupt him but Stephen wasn't about to stop now. “I may not be a lawyer, but even I know that I'm allowed to make a phone call here. So give me a phone. Right now. You don't want to waste even more of our time right?” Stephen made sure to stress his last sentence with the most saccharine voice he could manage. The officer's face turned an angry shade of red before he wordlessly stormed out of the room.

Stephen counted that as a win.

Even though in a moment he would have to make the most embarrassing phone call of his life. He massaged his temples with his free hand. He already felt the beginning of an oncoming headache.

He hated Halloween.

—

“Man, do I love Halloween!”

“That's...that's nice, Mr. Stark, really, but it kind of, uh, doesn't help with my problem?” Peter's voice went into almost high pitch territory and Tony rolled his eyes fondly.

“Kiddo,” he started, lazily stretching himself out on his very comfy couch before focusing back on the video call on his phone. “You're worrying way too much. Come on, relax a little. It's Halloween, it'll be fine.”

He didn't even need to look to know Peter was frowning.

“That's exactly the problem, Mr. Stark. It's Halloween. There's bound to happen... something.” Peter was worriedly biting his lip.

On the one hand Tony had to admit he was kind of proud that Peter was so thoughtful, even if he definitely needed to relax more. On the other hand...

“Why do I feel like you're not telling me what's the real trouble here?”

Peter instantly shrunk a little, his ears turning a bright shade of red. _Bull's eye_ , Tony quietly thought, the corners of his lips turning up in a soft smile.

“Um... It's just, I mean, patrolling and helping people is obviously more important, but, um...”

“But?”

Peter visibly gathered all his courage before quickly answering, “Gwen asked me to go to a party with her and I can't. I mean, it would be irresponsible, right? I should keep patrolling. And it's a costume party. I don't even have a costume.”

“Gwen...isn't that the new girl? The one you have a crush on?”

Peter sputtered. “I-It's really not like that, Mr. Stark.”

“Sure, of course not,” he agreed easily, letting the topic go for now. “But do you actually want to skip out on your date just because you're scared something _might_ happen?”

“It's not a date! Besides, what if somebody needs help tonight?”

“You do realize the police exists, right?” Tony sighed, combing through his hair. “Tell you what kid, you go on your not-date and I'll keep an eye out for any kind of trouble, ok? Not that I'm not doing that all the time anyway. Oh, I could grab myself a costume and go all vigilante,” he smirked. It would probably be more fun than spending Halloween all by himself.

“Please don't do that Mr. Stark,” Peter said with a wince, but there was no mistaking the hope in his eyes. “You'll really watch out tonight? You'd do that?”

Tony just shrugged. “Sure. Like I said, I basically do that all the time, just on a more alien invasion kind of level. But why not deal with some regular mugger from time to time? You should really go out and enjoy yourself, Peter. You're still young, and you don't want to miss out on all the fun.”

Peter still looked unconvinced though. “I don't even have a costume. And it's a very big costume party, so that part is sort of important.”

“It's Halloween. Just go in your suit.”

“What?” Peter cried out.

Tony just shrugged again, completely unbothered. “It's really no big deal. On Halloween we always used to go out in our suits as the Avengers. It's a lot of fun because people never ever realize you're actually the real deal.”

“No way.” Peter shook his his head disbelievingly. “No way did you do that.”

Tony genuinely snorted at that. “ _Yes way_ we did that, and it always worked. It was really nice to go out without being stalked by paparazzi. Best day in the year; even Cap played along. Why do you think why I like Halloween so much?”

He grinned but there was a tiny ache in his heart. Of course, there was no repeating the usual Halloween shenanigans, not after what happened. Cap was gone, and the others with him.

Peter was still staring at him, apparently stuck somewhere between incredulity and pure awe, but he was considering it, Tony could tell. “Come on,” he coaxed even further. “I'm giving you blanket permission here to misuse your multimillion dollar suit in an inappropriate and very fun way. And I'm telling you right now that's only a once-a-year deal. Just try not to kill anybody.”

There was another silent moment of consideration on Peter's part, before he smiled almost shyly up at Tony. “I'm blaming you if something goes wrong.”

“That's fair,” Tony nodded.

“Boss, you have another incoming call,” FRIDAY interrupted. “It appears to come from a local police station.”

Tony frowned. “How would anyone there know my personal number?”

“It seems important. I should go now anyway,” Peter commented. “Thank you, Mr. Stark. Seriously. For everything.”

There was this raw honesty in Peter's words that made Tony uncomfortable in a very weird way.

“Yeah, sure, talk to you later, kid. Have fun!” He scratched the back of his neck while directing FRIDAY to put the next call through.

There was a beat of a silence from the other end, before a familiar voice spoke up.

“Tony?”

Tony blinked. “Stranger Danger, is that you? Man, I haven't heard from you in weeks.”

Which was probably his own fault, Tony admitted. He and Stephen had grown somewhat close after a few incidents that Tony preferred to call adventures and Stephen would refer to as catastrophes at best. Spoilsport.

In the weeks leading up to Halloween, Tony had holed himself up in his workshop though, hyperfocused on his latest project. However, he had a feeling Stephen hadn’t taken that personally. After Tony had gotten to know him better, he found that Stephen was a surprisingly understanding guy. Tony appreciated that.

“Yes, it's me,” came Stephen's voice from the phone. There was a lot of noise in the background and Tony honestly wondered what had happened to him.

“Look,” Stephen continued. “This is a really...peculiar situation, but...I'm guessing you have some kind of experience with being apprehended by the police?”

“Should I be offended now?”

“That's not—” Stephen groaned and Tony couldn't help but grin.

“Are you telling me that you have been 'apprehended by the police'?”

“I'm being held here for saving a kid's life but the nice officers don't believe me because I look _strange_ ,” Stephen spit out and then there really was no helping it anymore. Tony started cackling loudly.

“This is not funny!”

Tony's stomach hurt from laughing but he just couldn't stop. “Because you look strange!”

“Yes, that  _is_ what I said,” Stephen grumbled and what Tony wouldn't give to see his face right now. “Can you help me or will I actually have to spend the whole night here?”

Tony seriously doubted that Stephen wouldn't find a way to escape the police on his own if he really wanted to. Still, in his own experience (and Stephen was absolutely right – he wasn't embarrassed to admit he had experience with this stuff) it was better to do this the legal way. Less complications and a much shorter paper trail.

Luckily, he always had a team of lawyers on standby to deal with these sort of things.

He took a deep breath trying to quell down his laughter and then replied, “Sure, I'll bail you out.” He tried to stay serious but it was very hard. He could almost physically feel Stephen's annoyance over the phone and that somehow made the situation even more hilarious.

“Thank you,” Stephen pressed out and Tony started wheezing again.

—

While Stephen was grateful for Tony's help, he wished the man would stop laughing at him now. Definitely his most embarrassing phone call by far.

It took only ten minutes for a whole team of sharply dressed lawyers to arrive at the station and after that mere seconds before he was finally freed from the handcuff. The one to unshackle him was ironically enough the same officer that had tried to trick him into a confession before. During the whole procedure he didn't meet Stephen’s eyes and held the expression of someone who had bitten into a sour lemon.

It was probably very immature but Stephen smiled triumphantly at him before finally leaving that wretched room.

Of course, the feeling of triumph vanished rapidly when he realized that Tony had evidently accompanied his team of lawyers and was waiting for him in the lobby. Stephen covered his eyes with his hand and groaned quietly.

It was best to get it over with quickly, he decided. Like ripping of a band-aid.

So he squared his shoulders and purposefully strutted over to Tony. Judging from his expression, that amused Tony even more and he had started outright laughing again by the time Stephen reached him.

By now they held the attention of everybody inside the lobby. Stephen wished he could find it in himself to care. Instead his face must have looked serious enough for Tony to try and pacify him.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, palms out in a universal 'no harm' gesture. “It's just, you look like a human version of grumpy cat right now, it's adorable.”

Stephen sighed. So much for the serious face.

Tony slowly calmed down while the people around them began pointing and whispering among themselves. Tony either didn't notice or simply didn't care. Instead his whole attention was focused on Stephen. Stephen noticed the impish glint in his eyes and so wasn't even surprised by the next quip.

“So, your boyfriend came to bail you out.” Tony waggled his eyebrows meaningfully. “Want to tell me what happened?”

“Har har.” Stephen was too exhausted to even pretend to be exasperated. “It's like I said: tried to save a little girl, got arrested for it. I still have a lot of work to do; the night is not nearly over. Thank you, again, but I really have to go.”

Tony frowned at him. “At least let me treat you to some coffee. I don't know why you're so busy, but you really look like you need a cup of coffee.”

“I shouldn't waste anymore time.”

“Time spent drinking coffee is never wasted time,” Tony replied in a sing-song voice. “Seriously, just one coffee. What is it with you people being allergic to taking a break?”

Stephen looked at him sceptically.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright, pot calling the kettle, I get it. But seriously. Coffee.”

This whole night so far had been draining. Maybe Tony was right. Coffee couldn't hurt.

“Ok, lead the way then.”

The sunny, almost relieved smile Tony gave him threw him for a loop. It also made his stomach feel weirdly tingly but he chose not to think about that.

—

The rich smell of fresh coffee permeated the air as they sat around the small, wooden table of one close-by café that was miraculously still open. There were tiny pumpkins set in the center of each table and what looked like a self-made jack-o'-lantern right next to the cashier.

Tony decided he had made the right choice by inviting Stephen out for coffee. Even though he would never understand how that man could drink his coffee black. Strange was just strange like that, he supposed.

But his mood was visibly improving after only a few sips, the tension leaving from his shoulders. Tony was a little proud of himself.

“So...long night, I guess?”

Stephen looked at him over the rim of his mug and replied shortly, “Yes.”

Still not in the mood for talking apparently. That was fine, Tony could entertain himself. Absentmindedly he grabbed one of the tiny pumpkins and turned it around in his hand. It fit snugly into his palm.

He wondered if Peter was doing fine. That boy was an even worse magnet for trouble than Tony himself and that was truly saying something.

Stephen eventually broke the silence. “It's Halloween.”

“Please don't tell me you only just noticed.” Tony gestured to the pumpkin in his hand.

“No. But Halloween is always a lot of work for us. Most myths about Halloween are just that: myths. However, it's true that the barriers between dimensions are weakened on this day.”

Tony could see where this was going. “And that means you have to work unpaid overtime every year to keep people from getting killed by magical stuff.”

“...you do realize I never get paid for what I do anyway.”

“Sorry to say Stephanie, but your job really sucks.”

Stephen laughed at that. “I guess it really does. It comes with free living space though.”

Tony smiled lazily. Stephen had a nice laugh.

“So after this you'll continue to run all over the city to where you assume something might be happening? Or are you just creepily standing around in a graveyard waiting for some ghosts to come out to play?”

Stephen grimaced at that. “There are certain... hotspots, you could call them, that I patrol. And I know you're joking but I've been to three different graveyards in the last few hours.” He rubbed his forehead and Tony felt stressed out just by watching him. Stephen continued, “Wong and I have come up with a system of who checks out which sector. When something bad happens, I can also usually tell where the magical disturbance comes from. Portals help a lot with getting around quickly.”

Tony finally put the pumpkin back and instead busied himself with finishing his own scalding hot coffee. Coffee with milk and sugar, that is, because unlike other people present he actually had taste buds.

“That sounds exhausting,” he commented. “And kind of overwhelming for two people, no offense. Want me to tag along?”

Stephen froze. “What?”

Tony lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “I promised the kid to patrol the neighborhood anyway. Which you're already doing, so why not team up? It'll be a lot less boring.”

Stephen blinked at him, thinking it over. Then he confessed, “If you don't mind being up all night, this might not be a bad idea. With the other incident... having another person there would've really helped.”

“I don't mind. Though I honestly want to hear the story of that 'incident'.” Tony sensed that whatever had happened had more of an impact on Stephen than he wanted to admit.

Stephen gave him a long look before nodding shortly.

And then he told Tony everything. He explained that he had been too late, that he had felt something wrong but had been held up in another situation, that when he had finally arrived at the scene he had been surrounded by fifteen grown men wearing black cloaks in a dark room only barely lit by numerous candles. That there had been blood, a lot of it – on the ground, on the walls, on that tiny girl and her small hands. That he hadn't known at the time that the blood wasn't all hers, that he had been afraid that he was already too late. Stephen's whole expression was haunted as he described the man that had forcefully held the girl's head down in a basin made of stone and fully filled with dark red blood. She hadn’t even been moving anymore, no struggling, no sounds. He had been sure that she was dead.

And so he had lashed out. Violently.

As it turned out, the girl hadn’t been dead. As soon as the man had let go off her, she had lifted her head and started gasping for air. The whole thing had deeply disturbed her though, and after all the men lay unconscious on the ground she had grabbed Stephen's sleeve in a surprisingly strong grip, not letting go until the police arrived. He had tried to talk to her of course, tried to calm her down as best as he could. She'd listened to him but she hadn't responded until he'd asked for her name.

“I don't like my name,” she had said in a small, but steady voice. “My parents gave it to me and they didn't like me, so I don't want anything from them.”

To say Stephen didn't know how to respond to that was an understatement. So he had just asked, “What would you like to be called then?”

“Sam,” she had replied, her unblinking gaze never leaving his eyes. There were a lot of things Stephen wanted to say in that moment and yet no words were coming to him. Then the police had arrived.

“And you know the rest,” Stephen finished his story, not quite looking at Tony. Tony took a deep breath trying to calm his racing heart. He almost regretted asking for the story – except that he didn't. Tony knew a lot of things about guilt. And he definitely knew what someone feeling guilty looked like.

“It's not your fault, you know.”

Stephen didn't reply and Tony knew it would take a while for him to come to terms with what had happened, and he'd make sure he would be there for Stephen. Tony wouldn't leave him alone with this, even if hearing the story of someone being drowned almost gave him a panic attack.

He felt a vicious sense of satisfaction knowing that these men were in the hospital now. Although if it had been him in Stephen's stead, they probably wouldn't have been that lucky.

Tony noticed that Stephen had finished his coffee by now. It was probably time to go – they still had some ghost-hunting to do after all. “We will talk about this again later,” he said, leaving no room for discussion.

“Later,” Stephen agreed softly after a moment of consideration.

Nodding, Tony stood up, his chair scratching noisily on the floor. He swiftly grabbed his wallet and strolled over to the cashier. He heard Stephen call “You don't have to pay!” after him and only waved his hand dismissively in return.

There was another woman in front of him currently paying and Tony marveled at that fact. The café was by no means overcrowded but to have several costumers this late at night was curious nevertheless.

As he stood in line, he could suddenly feel a cold draft hitting him right at the back of his neck. _People_ _a_ _re definitely not coming for the stellar architecture_ , he thought to himself, grumbling.

He tried to focus on something else but the cold seemed to be spreading from his neck over his entire back. Shivering, he rubbed his hands over his arms. This was getting ridiculous; he could actually feel goosebumps forming on his forearms now. He clenched his jaw. There was this weird prickling feeling he had, as if someone was watching him.

Relief went through him when the woman in front of him finally finished paying. Just as he walked forward, he felt something grabbing his hand.

Something cold. Clammy.

He whirled around.

There was no one there.

He looked down at his hand.

Nothing.

He threw an accusatory glance around the room. “Very funny,” he announced, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He turned back to the cashier who looked at him warily. It was the suspicious sort of look you gave someone acting crazy.

Tony threw down a fifty-dollar bill on the counter. “Keep the change,” he muttered and quickly went back over to Stephen, ignoring how his heartbeat was pounding loudly in his ears.

It was only a stupid prank. It had to be, Tony knew that.

But he wanted to leave that café right now.

—

They had been on the move for about an hour when Stephen finally conceded that Tony was much better company than he had first presumed. He was funny, quick on his feet and took almost anything in stride. The other man had a remarkably easy-going attitude and while he talked a lot, he not once complained about anything, not even when one especially ungrateful young woman threw a roll of toilet paper after them.

Although Stephen really wondered about that.

“You'd think people would be more respectful of you,” he mused. “It is a well-known fact that you are Iron Man after all.”  
“Oh, usually they are. On a normal day I can barely set a foot outside without at least one person recognizing me, and then it's only a matter of time until the paparazzi are everywhere. But it's Halloween.”

Stephen looked at him uncomprehendingly. Tony stared back and explained, “It means they don't believe I'm actually me.”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Oh come on now. It's Halloween, yes, but people aren't that stupid.”

Even though this night's experience so far had proven him otherwise.

Tony chuckled. “It's true though. Everyone instantly assumes I'm just dressed like Tony Stark. Did you know I'm one of the most popular Halloween costumes? Right after the Hulk.”

“I refuse to believe that this works. Maybe on people who just pass you on the street and that is a _big_ maybe,” Stephen stressed. “But there is simply no way anyone who comes close enough to talk to you doesn't realize you're not wearing a costume. That's just ridiculous.”

“Oh ye of little faith. I'm telling you it works. It always does.”

“No way.”

Tony grinned and gestured over to a group of people standing in front of a bar on the other side of the road. “Wanna bet?” Tony challenged.

Stephen didn't even deign that with a response. Apparently Tony was under the impression everyone around him didn't possess even half a brain cell.

Completely unconcerned, Tony swaggered over to the group, Stephen following closely behind. As they approached he noticed that the people were dressed as the Avengers. Stephen groaned in exasperation while Tony's entire face lit up like a Christmas tree.

A lanky man dressed as Hawkeye was the first one to spot their approach. His costume wasn't too shabby and Stephen idly wondered if he had made it himself. The only thing that stood out was the blond wig he was wearing, the hair so long it almost reached his shoulders.

'Hawkeye' quickly elbowed the Iron Man look-alike next to him into the side before waving them over with a large grin that Tony immediately returned.

“Hey there Legolas, long time no see,” Tony greeted amicably as they reached the group.

Both 'Captain America', who was carrying a wooden shield, and 'the Hulk', who Stephen figured must be freezing and regretting his life choices by now, began laughing. “Told you the wig is all wrong, dude,” 'Iron Man' commented.

'Hawkeye' harrumphed. “I don't care. Creative liberties, man. It looks great the way it does.”

His group was clearly not sharing his opinion but Tony agreed enthusiastically anyway. “It totally does.”

“See?” 'Hawkeye' said. “He gets it.”

“I'm sure he does,” 'Captain America' said amused. “Very nice costume by the way, Mr. Stark. You look incredible.” Then his eyes wandered over to Stephen curiously. “Sorry, I don't recognize you. Who are you?”

Did they really think...?

“I'm Doctor Strange,” he replied in a carefully neutral voice.

'Captain America' crumpled his face in contemplation. Then he shrugged. “Sorry, I don't think I know him. Is he from one of these new fantasy shows? I only really know the classics.”

Tony didn't even try to quell his laughter. “A true Capsicle!”

Stephen felt himself lose his faith in humanity right then and there.

“Anyway, is that all of you guys or did you manage to get a full assemble?” Tony asked.

“We had a Thor,” 'Hulk' answered. “But he was kinda... uh...”

“He got shitfaced before the party even started,” 'Hawkeye' said nonchalantly.

'Hulk' seemed to be quite embarrassed about that. “Well, yes,” he admitted. “We do however have a Black Widow and a very amazing Miss Potts. They should be here any minute now.”

Tony's expression was one of pure delight. “You have a Pepper?”

'Hulk' nodded proudly. “Yeah, she's my girlfriend. She really looks up to the real Miss Potts, says she's a great role model.”

“That's so cool. I can't wait to tell Pepper.”

Hulk smiled. “You also have a Pepper in your group?”

Tony grinned at him. “You bet I do!”

Stephen facepalmed.

'Hulk' ignored him and continued, “You guys are alright. Want to come with us? We're headed to a costume party; there's even a contest there. With your costume I'm sure you'd win.”

Tony shook his head. “Nah, we're good. We already have plans for tonight and I'm pretty sure Stephen here will kill me if we don't get moving soon.”

“Ah, don't let us keep you then. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Stark,” 'Hulk' said with a wink.

Stephen felt his eye twitching as Tony exchanged his goodbyes with the group.

They were probably drunk themselves, Stephen decided. There was just no other way this could have happened otherwise.

He plowed onwards down the street and listened to Tony's hasty footsteps as he tried to catch up with Stephen’s long strides. Tony was rather on the short side and although he'd never say that to the other man's face, Stephen privately thought it was cute. He imagined himself picking Tony up and just carrying him under one arm.

It was his cloak unexpectedly dragging him backwards that stopped his train of thought abruptly.

The cloak had been very quiet and almost acting like a normal, non-sentient piece of fabric for most of the night. To have it suddenly act up like that...

He turned around, but Tony wasn't behind him anymore.

“Tony?” Stephen called out as he carefully looked around, but the street was deserted. The streetlamp right above him flickered ominously. Stephen's hands began to shiver.

“Tony!” he called out again. Tony had been right behind him. How could he have disappeared like that?

Stephen took a few cautious steps backwards.

The air felt heavy. It was getting hard to breathe. Something wasn't right. Something was happening. He had to get away. Get away from here. Hurry!

Then Stephen heard it – an earsplitting, high-pitched shriek, like long nails noisily dragging over a chalkboard.

He immediately covered his ears with his hands to block out the sound, but he registered that it came from a narrow alleyway to his right.

Stephen didn't waste any time.

“TONY!” he yelled as he sprinted into the alley as fast as his legs could carry him. He squinted, trying to make out a figure in the dark, but there was nothing.

The noise stopped just as sudden as it had begun and left behind an eerie silence.

His chest was heaving. He tried to focus, tried to make out a trail of magic.

There was a hand on his shoulder, a heavy hand pulling him backwards. Instincts kicking in, Stephen whirled around and threw out a punch, but it was caught by another hand.

“Wow, careful there, it's just me.”

“Tony!” he breathed out, his form slumping in relief.

Tony let go of his fist. “Nice reflexes.” He tried to go for nonchalant, Stephen could tell. But his wide eyes and still drawn up shoulders betrayed him.

“Where have you been?” Stephen asked in a low voice.

Tony looked up at him and replied, “I don't know. I heard something...a child. It sounded like a child was crying. So I went to look.” He shook his head, appearing lost. “You didn't hear it?”

“No.”

Tony bit down on his lip, loudly exhaling. “Fuck.”

Stephen could only agree.

He didn't sense any use of strong magic around them and that was what disturbed him the most. He told Tony as much.

“Great. You know what, let's just leave.” Tony resolutely turned around and walked back out onto the sidewalk.

Stephen made to grab for his hand but ultimately decided against it. Whatever that had been, it was gone now, that much he could tell. No need to scare Tony even further.

They walked quietly next to each other for a while, their shoulders bumping together occasionally, but then Stephen took a deep breath. “Tony...” he started softly.

“Nope! Not talking about it. There's nothing to talk about. Don't even know what you're referring to.”

Stephen furrowed his brows and said, “Seriously.” And now Tony did meet his gaze. While he was still obviously unsettled, the wide-eyed panic had disappeared from his eyes.

“I'm fine, Stephen. That's not even in the top five of the weirdest things that have happened to me so far.” Tony quirked his lips into a gentle smile and squeezed his hand.

Stephen's heart skipped a beat as he wordlessly looked down onto their now intertwined hands. He gave a timid squeeze back.

Tony didn't comment but he didn't let go either. Neither did Stephen.

For a moment there was perfect silence around them, only interrupted by the sound of cars passing by on the street beside them. Then Tony stretched out his free arm to point to his left. “Hey look! It's the Black Widow!”

Stephen followed the gesture and watched a woman stroll down the opposite sidewalk. She was wearing a form-fitting black catsuit of very high quality. Stephen knew it must have been custom-made to fit perfectly like that. She obviously had put a lot of money into this – even the Widow Bites on her wrists looked uncannily like the real deal.

Tony evidently thought the same and let out a low whistle, disconnecting their hands absently. “Wow, that costume is incredible. If it weren't for the hair she'd be a perfect body double!” Instead of the Black Widow's bright red curls, the woman had straightened platinum blond hair that just about reached her chin.

Tony grabbed deep into his jacket's pocket before he called over to the other woman. “Hey Natasha! Nice look!”

The woman instantly stopped in her movements and inclined her head their way, face remaining completely blank.

“Seriously, you look great! Greet your friends from me!” And then he threw a bright orange lollipop over to her in a high arc, which the woman caught without even blinking.

Stephen turned to Tony. “Why do you have candy in your pockets?”

Tony scoffed. “I don't know how many times I have to repeat that to you, but it's Halloween. What fun is Halloween if I can't throw candy at kids? Or adults, I don't really care.”

“We're not throwing candy at kids, Tony.”

“I think you might be allergic to fun. Ever got yourself tested?”

While they bickered back and forth the woman had unwrapped the lollipop and put it in her mouth. Her cherry red lips shifted into a lazy smile and she nodded softly towards them before leaving.

“Best costume ever,” Tony commented again.

Stephen frowned, turning around again, but the woman was already gone. Could it be...?

“Hey, are you coming?” Tony was already a few steps ahead of him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming,” Stephen muttered distractedly.

He wouldn't be opening this can of worms tonight, he decided.

—

Ignoring certain incidents _that totally didn't happen what are you even talking about_ , Tony thought spending Halloween with Stephen was a lot of fun. He liked being able to effortlessly blend in, something he really only could do on Halloween.

And helping the small people instead of fighting off alien invasions and insane terrorists was a lot more rewarding than he had previously imagined.

His favorite rescue mission of the night was when they had helped a small, black kitten out of a tree. Although to be fair, it was mostly Stephen's cloak that had done the work. It had simply flown up into the tree and enveloped the scared cat before gently bringing it back to the ground. The cat quickly ran away but for a while Tony could still see it following them from a safe distance. It was adorable. The cat lost track of them however when they stepped through another of Stephen's portals.

It was time to check the 'hotspots' again.

Tony lazily stretched his arms over his head.

“Getting tired?” Stephen asked.

Tony snorted. “As if. This isn't my first all-nighter, you know.”

They were standing in front of the metal gate leading to one of the biggest cemeteries in the city. The whole cemetery was drenched in pitch black darkness with only some odd candles here and there giving out light.

Tony reached into his pants pocket and took out his phone, using it as a flashlight. Without hesitation he stepped into the cemetery, Stephen following at his heels. Tony was more than convinced that Stephen could produce some source of light himself, but he also didn't mind the closeness.

For a while they quietly wandered through the rows of graves. There was thick fog all around them that hindered visibility even further. Tony knew this scenery would probably freak a lot of people out, but he honestly wasn't afraid of graveyards at all. To him graveyards were sad, not scary. They just felt depressing.

Stephen silently tapped his shoulder then, pointing to what Tony assumed must be a whole bunch of candles in one place. It was really hard to say what exactly he was seeing there, the fog and the darkness both swallowing everything in their vicinity. But there was light, a lot of it, and something moving.

Tony and Stephen shared a quick glance before resolutely stepping towards the light.

The shapes turned more defined the closer they got and when they finally reached them Tony almost laughed out loud.

There were three people, probably teenagers, and they had obviously been drinking. One of the boys was apparently trying to impress the blond girl next to him. The other still held a half empty beer bottle in his hand. They were sitting in a circle on the ground bent over a ouija board of all things.

Tony scoffed. “This is just way too cliché. Seriously. Have to give them points for style though, the candles really set the mood.” He gesticulated to what must amount to at least thirty white candles of various shapes that were spread all around the teens.

Stephen, however, was not nearly as amused as him.

While Tony was trying to think of a way to break it to the kids that what they were doing was highly disrespectful to the dead at best and extremely dangerous at worst, Stephen had already charged forwards, his cape billowing behind him as if being blown away by very strong wind.

“Leave,” Stephen barked out.

Tony blinked and then looked down to Stephen's feet – sure enough, he was actually floating above the ground. The teenagers had noticed that little fact too and instantly started screaming.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy—” The boys scrambled to stand up, the one holding the beer dropping it in surprise. The girl seemed frozen in shock.

Then Stephen landed right in front of the ouija board, picking it up in one swift motion.

“Leave,” he demanded again, lifting the ouija board above his knee, “and don't ever do that again!” With a resounding crack, he broke the board into two pieces over his knee. Tony hummed, impressed.

That was the last straw for the teenagers however. The boys ran away screaming in terror while the girl finally came out of her stupor and followed them as fast as she could. “Wait! Flash, wait for me!” she screeched, the heels on her shoes doing her no favor with catching up to them anytime soon.

Tony grimaced. Leaving the girl behind with the angry sorcerer? Yeah, that relationship was definitely doomed.

Then he turned to Stephen who had already busied himself with putting out some of the candles that were dangerously close to the dry grass surrounding the graves.

“You know, I was planning on talking to them but I guess that worked as well,” Tony said and shrugged. “Maybe even better. But wow, you can actually be scary if you want to. We should put a white blanket over you; you'd make a great ghost floating like that.”

Stephen didn't even look up from the candles. “Time is of essence here. It's almost midnight.”

“So?”

“At midnight magical activity reaches its peak, even if only for a short time,” Stephen explained. “On the positive side, it also means we're almost done. After 1 am there's no need to patrol anymore – it's enough to be available on standby.”

“Huh. So only an hour left then.” _Time really does fly when you're having fun_ , Tony thought. Distractedly, he wandered over to some candles on the opposite side of Stephen and started putting them out one by one. Just when he was finished he noticed another light from the corner of his eye. He turned to see a lone tombstone about ten meters from him being illuminated from behind, which must’ve meant that there was a candle lit behind it, sitting right on the dry grass. Tony groaned. Even if there had been no danger from magical stuff, these kids managed set up a spectacular fire hazard.

Raking a hand through his hair in exasperation, he walked towards the grave. He wondered if he was ever that stupid when he was a teenager. Wincing, he came to the conclusion that yes, he absolutely had been that stupid when he was younger. Arguably he’d been a lot worse.

He went around the tombstone and knelt down to put out the candle. That's when he noticed it. A small doll, only about as big as his hand, leaning against the back of the tombstone. Frowning, he picked it up. The doll wore a long white dress – possibly a hospital gown? Its long, black hair felt strangely rough against his fingers, almost like it was made of very thin rope. And no matter which direction Tony turned the doll, it didn't seem to have a face.

“Maybe a kid made it?” he muttered to himself, finally blowing the candle out and reaching for his phone to light up his way back. From here he couldn't even see Stephen through all the fog, although he knew the other had to be right there. Stephen wouldn't just leave without him.

Tony spared another glance down to the doll in his hand. It was clearly hand-made, probably by a child, but then why was it hidden behind the tombstone? Had one of those teenagers taken it from the front of the tombstone and set it up behind it to scare their friends? At that thought Tony felt some anger bubbling up inside him. Going to the graveyard at midnight on a dare was one thing, but to actually mess with a grave?

Shaking his head, he gently put the doll back down at the front of the grave, propping it up against the tombstone. Then he lifted his phone slightly, the flashlight illuminating the inscription on the tombstone.

It was like someone had emptied a bucket of ice water over his head.

“What the...” He stumbled back, his heart racing. He rubbed his eyes harshly, as if that would change the words in front of him. It didn't.

In golden letters right on the middle of the tombstone _was his own name_.

ANTHONY EDWARD STARK.

This was insane. Absolutely insane and way too elaborate for a harmless prank.

He had to leave.

He ignored his heart pounding against his chest, ignored the urge to scream. He spun around, holding his phone out in front of him. There was fog everywhere. The phone only barely lit up his path.

Tony only managed to take two steps before he saw her, stopping abruptly.

There was a girl blocking his path. She was small and thin with pale, almost bluish skin. But most importantly...

She looked just like the creepy doll.

The same white dress, the same long hair. Her head was bowed down, black hair falling over her face.

Even as Tony tried not to panic, he was already screaming out as loud as he could. “STEPHEN!”

The girl lifted her head at his scream, and she _had no eyes._

Only a mouth stretched out into an impossibly wide grin. It grew larger and larger until it covered most of her face. There were several rows of thin, sharp teeth. Teeth like a shark's.

Tony stumbled back a few steps, a cold feeling spreading deep inside him.

What was that?

His hands were shaking, the light from his phone wavering, but he refused to look away from this creature. He couldn't.

Then he heard the sound of footsteps coming closer.

“Tony!”

“Stephen, watch out!” Tony yelled out the warning and then everything went black. He drew in a sharp breath, squinting to see anything in this darkness, but there was nothing. His phone wasn't working, and the candles – no, everything had suddenly disappeared.

There was nothing around him but cold, empty darkness.

After what felt like hours but couldn't have been more than mere seconds, Tony heard a loud, bone-chilling screech.

Suddenly there were beautiful orange sparks, shining brightly through the dark, and then everything returned. The graveyard, the candles. His phone was working again.

Stephen was there.

His hands were surrounded by glowing, orange circles. Before him was the girl, down on her knees, head in her hands. And she was...crying?

As Stephen let the circles around his hands disappear, Tony took a deep, calming breath, then another one. Only then did he slowly make his way towards them, asking, “What is going on here?”

Tony watched as Stephen's eyes flitted back and forth from Tony to the girl on the ground. Then he schooled his face into a carefully blank expression. “This is Sam. I've told you about her.”

Tony blamed coming down from an adrenaline high for his slightly delayed response. “Wait, wait, wait. This is the girl from before, the one that-”

“Yes.”

Tony looked at her again. She seemed very different now. For one, she actually had a whole face, with eyes and a normal mouth, and she was crying.

And talking.

“I'm sorry,” she said, her broken voice almost a whisper. “I'm sorry, I didn't know where to go, I'm sorry.”

Tony frowned. Something wasn't right about this.

Deliberately calm, he sat down next to her, which seemed to surprise the girl. After what just happened Tony figured she expected him to be more hesitant. Truth be told, usually he would be, but with Stephen right there...

He trusted Stephen.

“Hey,” he started in what he hoped sounded like a confident tone. “Want to tell me what you're apologizing for? What was this all about?”

He could see Sam biting her lip so hard, he was afraid it would start to bleed. Her whole body was shivering in what could be either fear or simply the cold – or maybe both. Only then did he notice that she wasn't even wearing shoes. Her toes had already turned blue.

“I'm sorry,” she said again. “I'm sorry for going after you.” She turned fully towards him, her eyes wide and alarmed. “You...you saw it too, right? These things?”

“I saw a lot of things,” Tony conceded. “Scary things. Things that can't be true.”

He cast a quick look over to the tombstone with his name on it. And like he expected, the tombstone was still there, but his name wasn't. Instead the golden letters now formed the name “Adam Smith”. The creepy little doll had mysteriously vanished, too.

Sam nodded. “Scary things,” she agreed, her expression haunted in a way that no small child should ever look like.

“So these are what, illusions? Hallucinations?” he asked.

It was Stephen who answered this time. “Yes, these were definitely illusions created using magical means, and I think I know how these came about. You said you have been following us, Sam? Did you know we would turn up here, in this graveyard?”

Sam's gaze wandered back to the ground. “It is the biggest one,” she said in a small voice. “I tried talking to you before, on the street, but...”

“But?” Tony coaxed her further.

She shook her head in a rapid motion, as if to physically shake off the memory. “I saw things,” she answered simply and Tony didn't ask anything more.

“Why didn't you stay with the police? Did you see things there too?” Stephen managed to keep his posture relaxed and calm and Tony envied him a little for his poker face.

Sam nodded and then added in a hushed voice, “It's dangerous. It's following me, I know it is. And it won't leave.” Then she looked up to Stephen, her dark eyes brimming with tears. “Please help me. I'm sorry, I don't know what to do.”

Tony could feel his heart breaking. This was scary and horrifying and he wasn't equipped to handle that kind of situation, but this little girl had gone through hell tonight.

He promised himself he would help her, even if it was the last thing he'd do.

He didn't need to be a mind reader to know Stephen was thinking the same.

Stephen leaned down to her and carefully put a hand on her shoulder. “It's fine. We'll help you. Everything will be alright,” he reassured her. “But you need to get out of the cold right now, you're freezing. We should take you back to the police—”

“No!” she interrupted, breathing heavily. “Not back there! I don't...” She swallowed. “I don't want to hurt anyone else.”

Tony could see the logic in that, but she was still a child and she needed to get warmed up fast.

“How about my place then?”

“What?” Stephen asked, startled.

Tony shrugged. “Why not? It's warm, there aren't many people around and most importantly, it's safe. Safest place in the city.”

Hearing the last part of his statement, Sam seemed completely on board with the suggestion. Stephen however was doubtful. “We can't just take a child away like that.”

“It's not like she's staying there forever,” Tony argued. “You said yourself that after 1 am the magical stuff weakens. Then this ghost or whatever is following her around should be affected by that too, right? No more creepy illusions then.”

Stephen sighed, crossing his arms. “I don't like this, but I guess it's really the best option we have at this point.”

Tony clapped his hands and sprang back to his feet. “Great!” Then he held out a hand towards the girl. “Hey Sam, ever gone through a magical portal before?”

—

Sam had been acting a lot more aloof as soon as they had left the graveyard, and that hadn’t changed since arriving at the penthouse. Tony figured that whole conversation had burned through the last of her remaining stamina. He gently led her towards the couch in the living room and she sat down without a word.

Stephen kept his distance, watching her closely.

“We should get some food,” Tony said to Sam. “You must be starving. I certainly am. How do you feel about pizza?”

No reaction.

“Alright, take your time. I'll get you something to drink, ok? I'll be right back.”

He made his way towards the kitchen. Stephen followed him inside, the thick metal door closing behind him.

Tony faced him with a frown.“Ok, spit it out. What is it?”

“I'm not quite certain yet, but...I think this might be a different case than we thought,” Stephen began slowly.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Tony.” Stephen took a moment, apparently steeling himself for his response before starting again. “Tony, I don't think she's been followed by a ghost.”

“What? But you saw her, she was terrified. And I've been seeing these illusions too, so don't tell me it was all in her head.”  
Stephen shook his head. “No, that's not what I meant. Tony, I think she's—”

There was a dull thud coming from the door. A very loud pounding noise. And then another one.

It sounded like someone was hammering against the door, but before they could react it wasn't only noise anymore. The next thud left a dent. In what was supposed to be an enhanced metal door.

“What the—” Tony made to go forward but Stephen grabbed his arm in an iron grip.

“Tony, listen. Sam is not being followed by a ghost. She's possessed. By a demon.”

Tony was at a loss for words. With a sharp bang, another large dent appeared in the door.

“That ritual back then was supposed to summon a lower demon. I think it worked,” Stephen added.

“Why didn't you say anything before?” Tony hissed back.

“Because I wasn't sure!” He pursed his lips before haltingly letting go of Tony's arm. “Stay inside the kitchen. Don't leave the room. I'll go out and deal with her.”

Tony's eyes widened. “You want me to stand around here twiddling my thumbs while you're out there exorcising some demon? Hell no, I'm coming with you. I can take down an enemy in my own home, don't worry.”

There was an alarming creak coming from the door.

“I know you can,” Stephen said hurriedly. “But although she's possessed, her body is still that of a six-year-old girl. She would get seriously hurt if we attack her now.”

There was a heavy feeling in Tony's throat. Stephen was right. If he manhandled a little girl like that with the Iron Man suit...

He looked into Stephen's eyes, holding his gaze.“Alright, I'll stay here. Is there anything I can do?”

Stephen gave him a relieved smile. With one hand he opened a portal back into the living room, no doubt aiming to catch the girl from behind.

“You're in a kitchen; there must be some salt around. Spread it in a line in front of the door, it should help,” he replied quickly and then he was gone, the portal closing behind him.

After that everything went eerily silent. The banging on the door had abruptly stopped.

Tony didn't waste any time and promptly started rummaging through his cupboards.

“Come on, come on, where is it...”

There! A see-through plastic container filled to the brim with salt. He frustratingly had to stand on his tiptoes to reach the container at the very back of the cupboard. He grabbed it and made his way back to the dented door. As he started to spread the salt he wondered how much he needed to use.

“I don't care. I'll just buy a new package after this,” he decided, muttering under his breath and simply dropped all of the salt onto the ground. That should definitely do the trick. Then he took a few steps back and leaned with his back against the white wall opposite of the door.

He hated waiting. He knew Stephen was right – there wasn't much he could do without endangering Sam's life. But he hated waiting around, feeling useless, while other people dealt with the dangerous situations.

He wondered how the girl had managed to dent his door like that. Only with magical power? Telekinesis maybe?

It was only due to his eyes never leaving the door that he managed to react in time. He jumped to the side as the door completely caved in with a thunderous bang, just barely missing him. It hit the wall right where he had been standing before.

In the door frame was Sam – no, not Sam. Tony watched her hunched figure. Her head was bowed down again and her hair—

Her hair was everywhere.

It wasn't only shoulder length now, or even knee length. It spread out on the ground, covering the whole floor in thick black strands. And it was moving. It was moving up the walls, completely defying gravity, and it spread even farther, passing the door frame and reaching into the kitchen.

This was not Sam anymore; this wasn't even human. This was the demon.

Tony held his breath as it stared down at his line of salt.

And then simply walked over it, just like that.

“Oh come on!” he cursed, activating his Iron Man gauntlet from the wrist watch he wore. He didn't want to hurt her and he wouldn't, but with a flash beam from the gauntlet he might be able to blind the demon and buy himself some time.

Where the hell was Stephen?

The demon was moving further into the room, forcing Tony into a corner. He lifted the gauntlet out in front of him when he saw Stephen stealthily floating up behind the girl's figure, his hands glowing.

No flash beam then. That would distract Stephen just as much as the demon. But to keep the element of surprise he still needed to keep its focus on him.

The demon evidently noticed that something was off. Just as it was about to turn around, Tony reached deep into his pocket and threw a handful of Halloween-themed candies at its head.

“Happy Halloween, body snatcher!”

The demon screeched in anger, the black hair pulsating.

Tony watched as Stephen instantly took the opportunity and moved in, putting his hands on Sam's temples.

Suddenly the whole room shone in a blinding orange light. Tony instinctively put his arms in front of his face, trying to shield his eyes. Distracted, he didn't notice the thick hair curling around his ankle, pulling him, until it was too late.

With a scream he fell down, hitting his head hard on the floor.

His ears were ringing. Then everything went black.

—

When he woke up again, he was in his living room. Back on his favorite couch where the whole night had started. His head was propped up on someone's lap.

For a while he let his eyes stay closed. There was still a sharp pain at the back of his head, but he’d had worse. A lot worse.

A hand was tenderly carding through his hair. It felt nice. Peaceful.

Maybe they could just stay like this for a few hours?

“I know you're awake. I did work as a doctor for years, remember?” Stephen sounded amused.

Tony sighed and opened his eyes. He was greeted by the sight of Stephen's face, smiling gently down at him.

He felt like his heart skipped a beat. How could someone look so cute and sexy at the same time? That was just unfair.

Tony groaned. “How long have I been out?”

Stephen shrugged lightly in response. “Not long. About twenty minutes, maybe. I wanted you to get checked out in a hospital but FRIDAY assured me she had already scanned you and there was no need. She did ask me to stay with you however. Just in case.”

Tony grinned. FRIDAY was the best wingman ever. Or was it wingwoman in her case?

Slowly he raised himself from his comfy position on Stephen's lap.

“It's not like I would've just left anyway,” Stephen felt the need to add.

“I know.” Tony looked around the room, but it really was only the two of them. “What happened with...?”

“She's alright. I exorcised the demon from her, so it's gone now. Unlike you she didn't get hurt so I took her back to the orphanage. She’s still scared it will return though and I can't blame her. Wong is staying with her right now.”

Tony let out a breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. “So it's really over now? She's safe?”

Stephen nodded. “Yes. Wong is only there for her peace of mind – none of us think she's still in any actual danger.” Then he grinned slyly. “It's honestly kind of sweet. Wong is very good with kids. He'd make a great babysitter.”

Tony laughed, relaxing against Stephen. “I'm glad.”

“Me too,” Stephen answered.

“I have to ask though,” Tony spoke up again. “Did you only tell me to do the thing with the salt so I wouldn't feel useless? Because the salt didn't work. At all.”

Stephen's whole expression scrunched up into a weird mixture of disbelief and secondhand embarrassment. “For a genius you really are an idiot.”

“Hey—”

“That wasn't salt, Tony. You were using sugar.”

“I—” Tony thought back to the plastic container. Nowhere did it say there was actually salt inside.

With a groan he put his head in his hands and mumbled, “In my defense, I usually order takeout instead of cooking myself.”

Stephen snorted. “If you say so. Look, there's another thing we need to talk about. Sam she...she wanted me to tell you she was sorry. I told her you'd be fine, but she was worried anyway. She thinks that your injury is her fault.”

Tony frowned. “It's not. She's only six; she shouldn't feel guilty for something she did while being possessed by a freaking demon.” He thought about it and then decided to visit her tomorrow.

Then he turned to Stephen. “And before you start thinking something stupid as well, I'm telling you right now, it's not your fault either. None of this. You did everything you could and it worked out in the end, didn't it?”

Stephen didn't seem convinced. “I should have been faster. Should have realized sooner that—”

Tony rolled his eyes, leaned forward and interrupted Stephen with a kiss.

Stephen looked surprised but didn't pull away. Tony grinned into the kiss when he noticed that there was a faint rosy blush on Stephen's cheeks.

After a moment they both slowly separated.

“You know,” Tony began, ignoring how his own face felt very hot now, “I really like you, Stephen. I hope you don't mind.”

This was it. Everything was out in the open now. No taking back what he said.

He couldn't remember the last time he had been this nervous.

Stephen was quiet for a second and Tony felt disappointment rising up in him. Had he misread the situation? Was Stephen angry with him?

“Why would I mind?” Stephen interrupted the silence and there was a twinkle in his eyes. “Actually, this works out perfectly because I like you a lot too.”

There was a curious feeling at the bottom of his stomach. A pleasant warmth filling him up, spreading from his torso into his fingertips and leaving behind a soft tingling. He leaned forward and—

His phone interrupted them with a loud ring.

Stephen lifted his eyebrows as Tony pulled back with a sigh. “Sorry, I have to take this.”

He glanced down at his phone, taking the incoming call: “Hey, kiddo. What's up?”

“Mr. Stark! You won't believe what just happened!” Peter's voice came loudly from the speakers.

“Did you throw candy at a demon?” Tony asked conversationally.

“What? No, I've been—I went to the party in the suit like you said, Mr. Stark,” Peter told him excitedly. “And it's true! Nobody recognized me at all!” He still sounded baffled by that.

“Told you, it always works.”

“So then Gwen said she loved my costume and that I should participate in this costume contest they were doing,” Peter continued, talking a mile a minute. “I thought everything went great so far, so I did.”

“And then?”

“Then I lost!” Peter cried out. “I actually lost! With my own suit! In a costume contest!”

Tony laughed heartily at that. “Aw, don't be upset. There are some costumes you just can't win against. Let me guess, the winner was a very attractive lady dressed as a sexy nurse.”

“Nonono!” Peter interrupted. “You don't get it, Mr. Stark! I lost against another Spider-Man costume!”

That actually stumped Tony. “Wait, seriously?”

“Yeeeees,” Peter whined, tone full of both annoyance and exasperation. “And the worst part is, it wasn't even supposed to be a Spider-Man costume. It was just Deadpool in his own suit!”

“You are kidding me. There is no way that happened.”

“Yes way!” Peter quoted him. “God, I can't believe I lost!” He actually sounded upset about that.

By now Stephen had noticed the disbelieving look on Tony's face. “Everything alright?” he whispered to Tony, face full of concern.

Maybe it was because of his enhanced hearing but Peter had clearly heard him. “Are you having a visitor? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt!”

“You weren't,” Tony reassured him with a little white lie. “I'm at home with...”

He glanced back to Stephen.

“...with my boyfriend,” he finished.

There was a beat of silence before Peter answered.

“O-Oh! Oh God, I'm so sorry. I need to go anyway, I promised Gwen I’d take her home. Please say hi to Doctor Strange for me, sorry again, bye!”

Before Tony could react Peter had already hung up.

Wait. How did Peter know it was Stephen here with him? Did he recognize him from that one sentence alone? He couldn't have predicted that they would get together...right?

“Boyfriend, huh?” Stephen pulled him from his train of thought.

“Uh.” He really should have talked with Stephen about this beforehand.

“Sorry, I kind of assumed that—”

He was gently interrupted by a kiss.

“I don't mind,” Stephen said softly, grinning.

—

Tony Stark absolutely loved Halloween. And maybe, just maybe, Stephen Strange did too.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading this :)  
> I was thinking of maybe doing a companion piece that describes Peter's POV of the same night. Let me know if any of you would be interested in reading that.  
> I had a lot of fun with this Big Bang. If you haven't yet, check out the works of all the other writers, they're amazing :)  
> Until next time!


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